How To Create Perfect Posts: Version 5 [Infographic]

[Version 5 of our Perfect Posts series is now available as a white paper! Find the latest update & download HERE!]

In our 5th edition of how to create perfect posts on social platforms we give you everything you need to know about creating the perfect posts on social media.

Along with the best and worst times for posting from: LinkedIn, Blog, YouTube, Tumblr, Vine, Google+, Facebook and Twitter.

LinkedIn has become an essential resource for over 3 million companies that use the platform, so we have updated our Perfect Posts infographic to include the B2B channel and to ensure your content will be seen and shared across all platforms.

Blog Post

Engaging Title:
Your title should grab attention as it is the first thing a viewer will read. Remember to keep it to under 70 characters and include any keywords at the start of the title.

First Paragraph:
Make sure any keywords are featured in the first sentence to grab people’s attention and let them know what they can expect from the article.

Word Count:
Ideally keep your post to between 500-800 words. This will be long enough to get your message across but also not too long that you lose your reader’s attention.

Links:
Include links throughout the post to direct viewers to other pages for more information.

Relevant Image:
Adding an image or graphic to your post will make it more engaging for the reader and make the post more shareable.

Call to Action:
End the post with a call to action such as a question or a link to another post the reader may enjoy.

Share on social:
Add some social media buttons to the post, prompting viewers to share.

Facebook

Keep Things Positive:
Positivity breeds engagement and sharing. It will help inspire and excite your users.

Pin Posts:
Pin your most recent/most relevant post to the top of the page to encourage engagement when fans first hit the page.

Provide a Link:
If you’re going to provide a link, make sure you Bit.ly it so you can track how many people are clicking through from Facebook.

Mobile Friendly:
Use simple imagery that will be easily seen on mobile devices as 80-85% of your fans will see posts on their phone.
Be Available:
Post when the audience is listening not just when your business is open.
This will ensure more engagement from users.

Engage with users:
Posts don’t just grab attention, comments and responses do. Engage with people and build relationships through conversational dialogue.

Include images:
Posts with images get the highest amount of engagement on Facebook, so make sure to include one when you can… perfect size 800×600.

Use Images:
Using full sized images (800×600 px) will make your posts stand out on the page compared to tiny images and link thumbnails.

Find Communities:
Find relevant communities to engage with and contribute in. You’ll see an increase in engagement as you all have one thing in common…that community topic.

Interact with Commenters:
Google+ doesn’t have the most active users/brand fans, so when you get comments make sure you extend those conversations.

Instagram

Editing:
Use other apps, such as Instafit and InstaCollage, to enhance your photos. Once you’re used to editing your feed will have a consistent look and feel.

Captions:
Use relevant photo captions to grab the attention of people and include questions to drive comments.

Reply:
@mention people who have commented to drive two-way conversations. Keep the comments to a conversational level, rather than pushing sales.

Rule of Thirds:
Putting the subject of the photo in only two thirds of the screen makes it more attractive to the eye.

Video:
Instagram videos must be 15 seconds long, so make sure the message you’re conveying is concise! Make sure you choose a compelling cover image from the video to encourage views.

Use Hashtags:
There’s always some random hashtags that come round once a week or so, so maybe be aware of them if you want loads of engagement.

LinkedIn

Status Update:
Your post should be up to date, informative, relevant and attention grabbing. Aim to use no more than 50 characters and engage with your audience by asking questions.

Provide a Link:
Adding a link to your update will help direct more people to your article.

Edit Description:
Edit your description text, be concise and to the point to draw in clicks.

Research & Analyse:
Know your target audience and tailor the post to them. LinkedIn insights is a great tool for this. Learn from how well your previous posts have performed, measure engagement through comments, shares, likes and clicks.

Interact with commenters:
Engage in the conversation and build relationships
with your audience. You could even ask a question to encourage further discussion.

Pinterest

No Human Faces:
Images with no human faces get shared 23% more often than those with human faces.

Add an image:
Adding an image or video will make your post more engaging.

Vine

Hashtags:
Be aware of popular hashtags such as loop and how-to to gain the most engagement, new users normally start at the hashtags.

Infinite Loop:
Master the infinite loop (a video that’ll seamlessly loop forever). To achieve this, your final scene needs to flow back into your original scene.
Be Wise:
Don’t rush creating your Vines! Even though you’ve only got 6 secs to play with take your time and execute professionally, don’t try and cram too much in. Remember you can’t edit clips!

Find Your Style:
People who’ve stood out on Vine are the ones who have their own style and nailed it. Think about what you love the most and portray it in 6 seconds.

Be Still:
Buy a tripod. A Vine video with a shaky camera can be annoying and you’ll lose the affect you’re going for.

Background Noise:
Possibly the hardest element to control but try to keep a steady hand and minimalise the noise of where you’re shooting.

Re-Vine:
Re-vine other user’s Vines that your audience will enjoy to create affinity between the brand and influencers.

YouTube

Uploading:
You want your video to be searchable so remember to change your file name to something relatable before you upload – staying away from MOV1234.mp4.

Call to Action:
Within the description remember to let viewers know what you would like them to do next, you may want to add a link back to your website.

Catchy Title:
This is what will get people to click and watch your video. Make sure it is attention-grabbing but also informs the audience about the topic.

Description:
Add more detail about your video to help viewers find it easily. Use the description to add links to your website and social channels.

Use Tags:
Get your video in front of more people by adding tags and using keywords, this will help your video appear in more searches.

Over to you.

What do you think? What are your top tips for creating perfect social media posts?